During World War II, intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) is stationed in North Africa where he encounters French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Reunited in London, their relationship is threatened by the extreme pressures of the war.

Ever since “Saving Private Ryan” ushered in heretofore unheard-of levels of gruesome and graphic detail to its World War II combat sequences, pretty much every WWII film that has been produced since then, right up to the recent “Hacksaw Ridge,” has gone to great lengths to stress the horrors of combat and its intense physical and psychological pressures. (Yes, “Inglourious Basterds” was a significant exception to this rule but I think we can all agree that strict historical fidelity was not high on that film’s agenda.) That is all well and good but would Hollywood ever again produce the kind of WWII movie that they used to make back in the day—the kind that mixed together action, politics, drama, humor and romance as enacted by impossibly glamorous movie stars? “Allied,” the new film from Robert Zemeckis, is just that kind of film….

“Allied” is one of those movies in which everything clicks in such a precise and effective manner—including top-notch contributions from the likes of composer Alan Silvestri, cinematographer Don Burgess and costume designer Joanna Johnston—part of the fun in watching it is in seeing all of the various pieces coming together in such a seemingly effortless manner. It is a lovely homage to the kind of entertainment that Hollywood used to put out in the day without breaking a sweat, while still strong and sure enough to work on viewers who have never seen any of the films to which it pays tribute.